Potato-harvester.



PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

A. 1?. CLARKE.

POTATO HARVESTER.

APPLIOATION rILBn JULY 24, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

.hrag Inventor',

Attorneys No. 806,871. PATENTED DEG. l2, 1905.

A. P. CLARKE. POTATO HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED- JULY Z4, 1905.

Witness nventor,

b ,1 l d y y PATENTED DEG. 12, 1905.

A. E'. CLARKE. POTATO HARVESTER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 24, 1905.

4' SHEETS-SHEET 3.

.il l

Inventor Attorneys No. 806,871. PATENTED DBO. 12, 1905.

A. P. CLARKE.

POTATO HARVESTER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 24. 1905.

4 SHBETS-SHEET 4.

Inventor,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

UNrrnD sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

POTATO-HARVESTER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed July 24,1905. Serial No. 271,061.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALVIN FERDINAND CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Edwardsville, in the county of Madison and State of Illinois, have inventeda new and useful Potato-Harvester, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to potato-harvesters of that class which, after bunching and cutting the tops or vines and shoving/them to one side, digs into the ground to a sucient depth to excavate the potatoes, which latter are elevated over a ,screen which disposes of much of the adhering dirt and of small and unmarketable potatoes into a second vibratory screen where the cleansing operation is completed and over which the marketable prod uct is discharged into a tilting receptacle, from which the potatoes may eventually be discharged into a gathering vehicle or in pilesA upon the ground.

The object of the present invention is to promote simplicity, durability, and efliciency in the construction and operationof .this class of devices; and with these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings` has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations, and modifications within the scope of the invention maybe resorted to when desired.-

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a potato-harvester constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation. Fig. 4: is asectional detail view taken on the plane indicated by the line 4 4 in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is asectional detail View taken on the plane indicated by the line 5 5 in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a perspective detail view of the cutter and the vinehook.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

The frame F of the improved machine is supported upon a bull-wheel 1 and a comparatively small transporting-wheel 2, the latter being mounted for rotation upon a spindle 3, connected with a depending bracket t at one side of the frame. The latter is additionally supported by a trailing Wheel or caster 5, the frame of which is swiveled on ashank 6, connected with a bracket 6 upon the rear portion of the frame. The latter is provided with a tongue 7, reinforced by an oblique brace 8, said tongue being hingedly connected with the frame, so that it may be raised or lowered when desired. Special means may be employed for the purpose of adjusting the tongue and retaining it at the desired adjustment; but such means are common in machines of this 4class and in harvesters generally,and they have notbeenillustrated. Theframeincludesapair of longitudinal arch members 9 9, suitably spaced apart, which cooperate with the main frame to support the upright flanged guides 10 10 and 11 11, said guides consisting of channel-bars which are firmly secured in position. The guides 10 10 serve to support the vertically-movable cutter-frame 12, the sides ot' which, near their lower ends, are twisted to form brackets 13, carrying the obliquely-disposed cutter 14:, which serves to cut the tops or vines of the potatoes close to the ground and to shove them to one side asthe machine progresses. Attached to the outer side member of the frame by means of a bolt or fastening member 12a is a vine-hook 15, the function of which is to gather and lift the vines in front of the cutter as the machine progresses,

so as to insure certainty of operation of the cutter.

The upright guides 11 afford supports for the vertically-adjustable digger-frame 16, to the inner sides of the limbs of which are rml y vsecured the side members 17 of an elevatorframe containing an endless carrier 18, which is mounted upon rollers 19 and 20, supported for rotation near the lower and upper ends of said frame, respectively. rI`he elevator consists of an endless apron of ilexible, usually textile, material provided with cross-slats 21.

' Between the lower ends of the side members of the frame 16 is secured the digger 22, which consists otl an inclined plane adapted for digging into the soil to eXcavate the potatoes, which,together with the dirt adhering thereto, will slide up the inclined plane and be deliveredconto the elevator or carrier, whereby they are disposed of as will be presently described.

Pivotally connected with the digger-frame 16 is a lever 23, havinga spring-actuated stop IOO IIO

member 24, adapted to engage a segment-rack 25. The forward free end of the lever 23 eX- tends between a pair of lugs 26 upon the upper side of the cutter-frame and under a pin 27, which connects said lugs, said pin being, if desired, in the nature of a roller which freely engages the upper side of the lever, by means of which latter the cutter-frame may be raised or lowered, as will be readily understood, with relation to the digger-frame. The latter is provided with a depending yoke 28, pivotally connected with the forward end of a lever 29, which latter is fulcrumed upon a rack-segment 30, supported upon across-bar 31, which connects the arched frame members 9 9 in rear of the cutter-frame, which latter may be thereby vertically adjusted and retained at various adjustments by means of a stop member 32, connected with the lever 29 and engaging the segment-rack 30. It will be observed that when the digger-frame is adjusted it carries with it the cutter-frame, so that the relative distances of the lower ends of said frames from the surface of the ground may be constantly preserved. At the same time the cutter-frame is independently adjustable, so that it may be set to permit the digger to enter the soil to various depths, according to the condition of the crop, while the cutter-frame merely skims over the surface.

The rear kpart of the frame F supports a transversely disposed elevator or carriertrough 33, having a solid bottom 34, above which is supported a screen 35". At the upper and lower ends of the trough, adjacent to the upper and lower ends of the screen, are rollers 35 and 36, supported for rotation and connected by endless belts 37, which in turn are connected by means of transverse slats 38, constituting a carrier. The lower end of the trough is provided with a receiving-hopper 39, whereby the potatoes discharged over the carrier 18 are deposited upon the carrier in the trough 33, said hopper serving to prevent the potatoes from dropping upon the ground.

Supported adjacent to and below the discharge end of the carrier contained in the trough 33 is a frame 40, slightly inclined in a forward and downward direction and having guide-flanges 41, upon which a screen 42 is supported for reciprocation. Said screen slightly overlaps a receptacle 43, which is hingedly supported upon the frame F and which is provided at its inner end with a lever or handle 44, whereby it may be manipulated to discharge its contents to one side of the machine. A flexible member, such as a chain 45, connects the inner edge of the receptacle 43 with the frame, said flexible member being intended as a cheek to prevent the receptacle from being tilted too far and also when the receptacle is tilted to enable the operator to restore it to normal position by simply pressing upon the chain with his foot.

A seat 46 for the driver or operator is supported upon one of the arches 9, foot-rests 47 being formed upon or connected with the seat-supporting spring 48. A foot-step 49 is also formed upon or connected with said arch member.l

Supported in suitable bearings in the rear part of the frame is a transverse shaft 50, having at one end a loosely-mounted sprocketwheel 51, which is connected by a link belt 52 with a sprocket-wheel 53, which is secured upon or connected with the hub of the bullwheel 1. The hub of the sprocket-wheel 51 has a clutch member 54 adapted for engagement with a clutch member 55, which is feathered upon the shaft 50 and which is normally held in engagement with the clutch member 54 by the action of a suitably-disposed spring 56. A bifurcated level` 57, pivoted upon the rear of the frame, engages an annular groove 58 in the clutch member 55, and said lever 57 is connected by a link 59 with a crank 60 at the lower end of a vertically-supported shaft 61, having at its upper end a handle 62, whereby it may be turned for the purpose of throwing the clutch members 55 and 54 out of engagement, thereby permitting the sprocketwheel 51 to rotate idly upon the shaft 50. Said shaft carries near its outer end a bevelpinion 63, meshing with a bevel-pinion 64 upon a stub-shaft 65, which latter also carries a sprocket-wheel 66, which is connected by a chain 67 with a sprocket-wheel- 68 upon the shaft 69 ofthe roller 35, which is thereby driven, thus driving the endless carrier in the trougli 33. The shaft 50 terminates in a crank 69, which is connected by a pitman 70 with the reciprocatory screen 42, to which ,latter motion is thus transmitted.

The shaft 50 carries a fixed sprocket-wheel 71, which is connected by a chain 72 with a sprocket-wheel 73 upon a stub-shaft 74, which `slidably engages a non-circular shaft 81, which extends through suitable 'bearings in the bracket member 78 and the lower end of which has a bearing in a bracket 82, connected with one of the side members of the trough or casing in which the endless carrier 18 is supported. Said non-circular shaft has securely connected therewith a bevel-pinion 83, meshing with a bevel-pinion 84 upon the shaft 85, carrying the roller 20, which supports the upper end of the carrier 18 and imparts motion in the proper direction to said carrier.

It will be seen that under the construction described the carrier-frame 16 may be raised or loweredwithout interrupting or aecting the movement of the endless carrier 18, this being obviously important, as the operator is IIO thereby enabled to raise and lower the carrier-frame or digger-frame while the machine is in operation, and thus to adjust the digger according to the condition of the crop. The cutter-carrying frame, as has been hereinbefore described. is adjustable with the diggerframe or independently of the latter, so as to permit proper adjustment to be made according to existing conditions.

The potatoes excavated by the digger are elevated by the carrier 18 and are dumped into the hopper at the receiving end of the carrier contained in the trough 33. The potatoes being thus dropped or dumped, the dirt adhering thereto will be dislodged and will pass between the bars of the screen contained within the trough 33. The endless carrier operating in the latter will thus serve to 4elevate the potatoes and to discharge them into the frame containing the reciprocatory screen 42, while the lower lead of said carrier will move the dirt, trash, and small and unmarketable potatoes which pass between the screen-bars downwardly over the solid bottom 34 of the trough, discharging such refuse at the lower end of the trough. The potatoes discharged upon the reciprocatory screen 42 are subjected to an additional cleansing operation, after which they are discharged into the tiltable receptacle 43, where they accumulate until it shall be desired to discharge them, which may be done at any time by manipulating the receptacle 43 by means of the lever or handle 44.

The construction of this improved potatoharvester, as will be seen from the foregoing description, is simple and inexpensive, and the operation thereof is practical and ecient.

Having thus describedthe invention, what is claimed is- 1. In a potato-harvester, avertically-adjustable digger-carrying frame, a vertically-mov able cutter-carrying frame, and a lever for the adjustment of the cutter-carrying frame supported upon and connected withv the adjustable digger-carrying frame.

2. In a machine ofthe class described, a vertically-adjustable digger-carrying frame, elevating means permanently connected with said frame, a vertically-movable cutter-carrying frame, an adjusting-lever fulcrumed upon the digger carrying frame, and lugs upon the cutter-carrying frame connected by a pin or roller beneath which the adjusting-lever, eX- tends.

3. In amachine of the class described, a digger-carrying frame, a suitably-supported adjustinglever for raising and lowering said Yframe, means for supporting the frame at various adjustments, a vertically-movable cutter-carrying frame, and means connected with and supported by the digger-carrying frame' for adjusting said cutter-carrying frame and for supporting it at various adjustments.

4. In a machine ofthe class described, a vertically-adjustable digger-carrying frame, elevating means connected with said frame, means for continuously operating said elevating means at various adjustments and periods between adjustments of the digger-carrying frame, a cutter-carrying frame supported for vertical movement, and means connected with and supported by the digger-carrying frame 

